AIR MAX MONDAYS: Exclusive – Toronto Nike Air Max 1 “The 6”

It has never been a secret that I am from Toronto, Canada and as sneakerhead it has often been a struggle to find a sneaker that represents where I’m from. A lot of the time you may be lucky to have a professional athlete from your city that can represent you, but that being said they are often not from the city either. Recently, Drake has helped to put Toronto on the world stage in a big way with not only his dominance in the music scene, but he has also collaborated with the Jordan brand to create some amazing Nike Air Jordan Xs as well as Nike Air Jordan XIIs through his own OVO (October’s Very Own) brand. That being said…his collaboration represented him and his brand more than just Toronto.

So that left most Toronto sneakerheads feeling frustrated because whether people want to recognize us or not…there is a MASSIVE allotment of sneaker fiends in Toronto that have been neglected. What could any brand do to give Toronto its well-deserved shine? Well, fret no more Nike has blessed Torontonians with a very beautiful Nike Air Max…

Introducing the Nike Air Max 1 – “The 6”. Yes indeed…we have finally made it! Don’t get me wrong seeing that Toronto is filled with tons of sneakerheads there is bound to be some haters. I mean one of the other nicknames for Toronto is the “home of the hater”…don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just putting it out there.

You may be asking yourself…”why now?”, well it is stated that Nike Canada ‘s Communications Director, Claire Rankine told the Toronto Start through email that “This is Nike’s love letter to the city of Toronto”. I don’t know about you, but I like love letters and I will gladly accept this one with open arms. The Nike Air Max 1 – “The 6” was designed by Canadian Native, Erin Cochrane who did an excellent and I will explain further shortly.

One of the first things you will notice about this sneaker is that the Visible Air Unit doesn’t look like it would on a normal pair of Nike Air Max…in fact some would take it as far as saying that it looks like something you would see on a knock off. WHY? Well instead trying to reinvent the wheel…here’s the exact description of these kicks from nike.com:

“The shoe’s Toronto-specific features include rubberized coating on the all-white outsole and airbag. Designed to prevent cracking, it is a first for the Air Max silhouette. Additionally, Tech Tough coated leather, buck leathers, technical woven textiles and a waxed lace, exclusive to this release, help combat cold, wet Canadian winters. The shoe’s sock liners are inspired by the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, best viewed in the Canadian North, the heart of the Auroral zone. Meanwhile, the graphic on the sock liner features Toronto’s architectural claim to fame: the iconic CN Tower, which stands at the center of the city.”

Toronto’s seasons are no joke at all and this sneaker has been designed with this in mind. Like most sneaker heads in Toronto, once that cold weather starts to show its ugly face we tend to pack away our priced sneaker collection and break out either the sneakers we are willing to sacrifice to Jack Frost or bring out them winter boots. With all that in mind Cochrane gives us a sneaker that we can rock in all seasons all year long! Good looking out!

Most sneakerheads that I have had the pleasure of discussing this sneaker with have told me that more than likely they will be grabbing these…so that being said it is going to be a hard one to grab. It was released on December 6, 2015 and I can tell you that it was gone before you could blink an eye.

Just like anything else there are many debates about this sneaker from was Drake the one to anoint Toronto as “The 6” representing the 6 boroughs of Toronto to the argument that it would have better if they used the term “T-Dot”. Like most things in life this is an opinion based discussion, which means no one will be happy in the end…either way WE have a sneaker that reps Toronto and just based on the love that has been given to it this is just the tip of the iceberg!

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Sole Theory is a sneaker lifestyle guide that explores the social impact of the sneaker culture. Users can expect to gain insight on recent trends, historic brands and signature styles that have heavily influenced the shoe industry. Content will be driven by articles, interviews and reviews that will uncover interesting facts and stories that have rarely been told.